Two-Start Pitcher Notes – Week of 8/20

Hey everyone,

It’s Friday, so I’m sure you know what that means! Yup, it’s time for my weekly two-start pitcher notes. I’ve chosen ten guys this time and, unfortunately the majority of them are ditches. There are just not a whole lot of appealing options. Hopefully, we’ll have better luck next week.

-Zach

Derek Holland (vs. BAL, vs. MIN)

These aren’t terrible matchups and Holland pitched well against the Tigers back on August 11th. But he was mediocre vs. the Yankees on Thursday and let’s face it, this guy can blow up at any moment. Also, his home ERA of 5.60 is way higher than his road mark of 4.06. The strikeouts are nice but the rest of the numbers could be very ugly. This is a gamble not worth taking. Ditch.

Homer Bailey (@PHI, vs. STL)

Bailey’s been a start on the road but bench at home pitcher pretty much all season, but after getting roughed up at Wrigley and then at home against the Mets on Thursday, he’s now a bench until further notice. The @PHI matchup is a slightly appealing one but no way do I trust him at home vs. the highest scoring team in the NL. This is a case where one decent start could be outweighed by one disaster outing, and my confidence in Homer is very low right now. Ditch.

Ricky Romero (@DET, @BAL)

Ricky seemed to have figured things out before putting up a stinker in his latest outing. The bottom line is that pitching Romero right now is playing with fire. Not to mention that these aren’t exactly easy matchups. In mixed leagues, he’s an automatic ditch until he can show more consistency.

Edinson Volquez (vs. PIT, @ARI)

I’ve been very loyal to Edinson all season, continually recommending him for his home starts. My patience has run out. I don’t care that the Pirates are a sub-par offense. I don’t care that Volquez will be facing them at Petco. He got blasted in his latest home start vs. the Mets and is just not worth the headache. Oh yeah, then there’s the @ARI matchup, which has all the makings of a disaster. In two career starts at Chase Field, Volquez sports a 5.91 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. Ditch.

Gavin Floyd (vs. NYY, vs. SEA)

Five of Floyd’s last six outings have been quality starts but there’s nothing about Floyd’s mediocre season that has me excited. We all know how risky it is to start any pitcher against the Yankees and although the Mariners’ offense is poor overall, Seattle ranks 2nd in the AL (even ahead of the Yankees) in runs scored on the road. Floyd is strictly an AL-only play.

Ervin Santana (@BOS, @DET)

It was nice to see Erv pitch well against the Indians on Wednesday night as he’s been a total bust this year. But with two tough road matchups on tap, now is not the time to test out if he’s turned the corner. Santana’s pitched a lot better at home (4.76 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) than on the road (6.47 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) and the last time he notched consecutive quality starts was way back in June. Ditch.

Joe Saunders (vs. MIA, vs. SD)

I know I’ve been overly negative so far, so let’s cheer up a little! Yeah, Saundo is boring and offers limited upside. The home stats (4.72 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) say to ditch, but Saunders has tossed a combined 16 scoreless innings vs. the Marlins and Padres this season and both of these clubs haven’t been lighting it up offensively of late. Saunders deserves consideration in deeper mixed formats and especially in NL-only leagues.

Mike Leake (@PHI, vs. STL)

Perhaps no pitcher has frustrated me this year more than Leake. Whenever I pick him up for a spot-start, he gets hammered. Then, right after I drop him, he pitches a gem. Like his teammate Homer Bailey, Leake has thrived on the road while struggling at home, his complete game effort vs. the Mets on Wednesday notwithstanding. And, like Bailey, I’m ditching. The vs. STL matchup is as bad as it gets, and while the Phillies’ lineup is far from intimidating, Citizens Bank Park is always a tough place to pitch. In 15-team mixed or NL-only leagues, I’d probably give Leake a shot. But in standard 12-team mixed leagues, I’ll take the conservative route and pass.

Lucas Harrell (@STL, @NYM)

Harrell’s dominant performance vs. the Cubs this week marked the seventh straight start in which he’s allowed two earned runs or less. He’s also racked up a hefty dose of strikeouts during this span, whiffing 38 in 43 2/3 innings. The way he’s pitching right now, I’m cautiously optimistic about the @STL start and very optimistic about the @NYM start. In 12-team mixed leagues, I’ll roll the dice and say pitch.

Scott Feldman (vs. BAL, vs. MIN)

To me, Feldman is similar to Leake in that he’s a solid option in deeper mixed leagues but might not be worth the risk in a 12-team mixed. It all comes down to where you stand in the ratio categories and whether or not you can truly benefit from chasing wins. The good news is that Feldman has been exceptional at home this season (3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP), so next week is an ideal time to take a chance on him…if you’re feeling lucky.

2 Comments

In an AL-only I’m OK with that as Smith has been pretty effective lately. But both of those lineups still have some scary hitters. It depends on your other options, but I’m not against using him in such a deep league.

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